City of Chaos
by andbreathe
Summary: Clary is looking forward to a holiday in Ireland with Simon and Jace. But then something goes wrong. Then something else goes wrong. And then Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain somehow get involved and many more things go wrong. Set between Glass and Fallen Angels and after Death Bringer... probably.
1. Chapter 1

Valkyrie watched her reflection return to the mirror, its blank face - her face- melting into the glass until it was just a flat image. That was still the strangest thing, even after all the things she'd seen. Seeing herself walk into a mirror. It felt unreal, even more unreal than the spark that flared from her fingers when she clicked them, or the shimmer in the air when she spread her fingers. Magic just seemed… possible, when watching herself – _herself! - _slide through glass like it were water was just wrong.

Snapping out of her thoughts, she began to swap her shadow-black fighting gear for jeans and a plain dark red t-shirt. This was her evening off. An evening reserved for her family and nothing else. When you fought evil as a job and a magical reflection did your life for you and sometimes you didn't come home for weeks, you wouldn't take time off for granted.

As she headed downstairs, she thought vaguely, _But fighting evil isn't what I do – it's who I am._

"You're defeated, skeleton," The woman in front of Skulduggery regarded him with amusement. "And this is who they call the undefeatable, the immortal Skeleton Detective."

Skulduggery didn't move, his arms spread limply about him like two very dead eels. He felt like a monster truck was having a lie down on his head. Maybe it was. He wasn't very aware of anything any more.

The woman began to pace, slowly and deliberately, towards him, stopping by his head. She bent down. "Skulduguwy Pweasant," she taunted. "All hurty and deady and limpy. The gweat Skulduggery Pleasant is defeated. And no one's coming to save him. Tut tut."

Skulduggery regarded her with an unreadable expression. Then suddenly and without warning she was flying to the other side of the room and the wall was rushing up to meet her head.

Skulduggery pulled his leaden limbs up into a sitting position and looked at his handiwork with his blank, but faintly amused, eye sockets. "I love making new friends," he said happily.

Clary was going to Ireland. Just her, Simon and Jace. No Luke, no Jocelyn, no adults. Just two weeks on a simple, mundane holiday, away from the Shadowhunter world that usually dominated her life. It was refreshing to think that she would be spending two weeks with life's simplest pleasures for company, and her two very best friends. She allowed the beam that had been wanting to break out all day light up her face as she packed the last of her things into her mother's battered leather suitcase that she had borrowed. (Maybe even her warrior mother had holidays sometimes.) Nothing was going to spoil her holiday. Not this time. Clary was only too aware of how much of a cliché it was to say that and _something_ to turn up, but she could hope…

"You ready?" Jace's voice came from the doorway. Every time she heard it her heart rose a little in her chest. She turned round and there he was, looking as close to mundane as he could get. An indigo t-shirt and black trousers, and deep golden hair surrounding his head like a halo where the sunlight caught it.

"I'm ready," she replied. "Or thereabouts."

"Ooh, long word," Jace teased.

Clary stuck her tongue out at him, noting how much more easily this sort of banter came to them than when they thought they were brother and sister. Finding out that Jace wasn't related to her was like seeing the sun break out from behind a cloud. Or the most wonderful rainbow you could imagine after a lifetime of rain.

Jace was about to walk back to his own room when there was a knock on the door. He looked back at Clary and she shrugged. "You'd probably better answer that." He nodded, and then then ran down the stairs without seeming childish or clumsy. It was an almost alien-like grace. Clary was envious. Just a bit.

Jace grasped the door handle and turned it. He slowly pulled it open, suddenly filled with a sense of dread and he didn't know why. And there Alec and Magnus stood, their solemn expressions turning Jace's insides to ice.

"Jace," said Magnus. "I'm so, so sorry. But something has happened. Something very, very bad has happened. And it's my fault."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: Thank you to everyone for the reviews! I'm so glad you like it and it's so nice to know that people are reading my story but I'm really really REALLY sorry I'm being so slow at updating! Anyway, here's chapter 2 so enjoy. (Also, like many other people, I am not Derek Landy or Cassandra Clare, so these people do not come from my imagination but the imagination of some geniuses called Derek Landy and Cassandra Clare.)**

"What? What is it? What's happened?" asked Jace, swapping his gaze from Alec to Magnus and back again. His heart was beginning to thud hard in his chest. What had happened? What could Magnus have done that was so terrible?

"I'm sorry," murmured Magnus. "I'm so, so, sorry. But we've decided-"

Alec's face broke out into a grin. "That we're coming with you!" he and Magnus burst out laughing.

Jace stared at them, open-mouthed for a couple of seconds, waves of relief washing over him, only to be replaced with horror as he realised how taken in he had been by their joke. "Erm… that's great!" he said, plastering a huge smile to his face, hoping to cover up the fact that two seconds ago he had looked as terrified as Clary had looked when he told her there was no coffee left.

Alec just carried on laughing. "Your face…" he gasped, then carried on.

Magnus smiled apologetically. "Don't worry; he's just having one of his moments…"

Jace grinned. "You're always welcome to come with us," he said, then he suddenly thought of something, and his voice went low. "Just remember to be - normal, won't you? Don't, like- start throwing fire or anything."

"Of course not," replied Magnus with a reassuring smile.

* * *

><p>Valkyrie slowly opened her sleep-heavy eyes, sounds of birdsong twinkling into her ears. She savoured the moment, realising how much more often she would wake up to the whitewashed walls of a Sanctuary hospital, or the dusky red walls and shoulder-ache of Skulduggery's house and subsequent lumpy sofa, or, most often, the spider-black night sky above her and hard, muddy ground beneath her. Now with her eyes fully open, she could see the golden, natural sunlight pouring in. It was lovely, but she had to get up, unfortunately. It was a school day and she had to keep up the pretence that she was actually going to school, even though, in fact, her reflection was.<p>

She suddenly realised she had a headache as she dragged herself to the bathroom. Obviously she wasn't used to a comfy bed. Sighing, she turned on the tap and splashed her face with water to wake herself up a little bit more, and ran her fingers tiredly through her hair to try and get rid of the worst sticking-up bits, then headed downstairs. Her dad was sitting at the table, with his legs lazily crossed and a newspaper obscuring his face from view. "Good morning, Daughter Number One," he said politely, not dropping his newspaper.

"Morning, Dad," Valkyrie replied. "How's Alice, and where's breakfast?" she continued.

"I can't cope with that much thinking at this time in the morning. Ask your mother," he replied immediately.

"I love you too," she said, and headed for the cupboard. It was true. Her parents were more important to her than she could ever express in words or gestures. It was just... she only saw them actually in the flesh and not just as memories from a reflection of herself very, very rarely. A teenager her age shouldn't see that little of her parents. She knew she shouldn't have let something take over her life so early on. But she couldn't stop. It was part of her, and giving up this life of adventure that she had chosen for herself would be like losing an arm. Worse than.

Even if it cost her a life with her parents. Or even her parents themselves, she thought, thinking of Cassandra's prophecy. That moment in the smoke of the vision when she saw her parents' lives go out...

"Stephanie?" her dad called. "I honestly don't mind you staring at the packet of cereal you have just taken out of the cupboard for two minutes straight; it was one of my favourite pastimes when I was younger too. But don't throw away your life for the sake of a packet of cereal, it's not worth it."

Valkyrie jumped. Her dad was right; she _had_ been staring at the packet of cereal for two minutes straight. Then she laughed. She could always count on her father to bring her out of her thoughts of doom and gloom. "Sorry," she said. "Mind bunnies." She made a mental note to teach that phrase to Alice. If only it had been her first words! That would have been so cute… And then she remembered. A sudden, overwhelming sadness. She would never get to teach Alice that phrase – her reflection would. Her reflection would watch Alice grow up and see her take her first steps and watch her start school and pack her little lunchbox and wave goodbye…

So that was the life she had chosen for herself.

Well, she would just have to deal with it. It was nobody's fault but her own.

She mechanically poured out some cereal and milk, and then stuck a spoon in it. She didn't do anything else for a long time.

"Look, I may be a complete lunatic but you can still talk to me," said her father gently. "You're worried. I'm your father. You can talk to me. That's what parents are for," and he put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Valkyrie looked up from her thoughts and smiled weakly. "Thank you," she said.

"No," replied her father. "That is not the answer. You tell me what's bothering you."

Valkyrie's smile grew the tiniest bit. Her father may have forgotten his trousers three days in a row, and tried to hide the milk from Alice because she needed to 'learn to fend for herself', but sometimes he just surprised Valkyrie by being the most sensitive and wise person she knew. "I- I've been having nightmares," she began, hesitantly. No one else knew about her nightmares. Not even Skulduggery. Nightmares didn't belong inside the mind of the assistant to the most feared detective in the magical world.

But her father was, well, her father. She was safe here, in the normal world, safe with her family. So she continued, slowly but steadily.

"It's- it's not every night. Just once in a while. But when they- they're- they have you in. and Mum. And Alice. And you're all-" She choked, not realising that tears were welling in her eyes. She had been about to say 'dead' but she couldn't. She just couldn't. "You're in danger," she finished. "I don't want you to- I – I don't want-"

She was breaking down in front of her father and it was horrible. The tears were pouring down her cheeks now and nothing she could do would stop them. She was beyond this. Crying like a child in front of her daddy…

"Stephanie, we're here," said her father gently. "We'll always be here for you," and he took her in his arms and she buried her face in his shoulder.

"I love you," she said as her tears dried away on his shoulder, relieved that the words coming out of her mouth were steady and strong. It was wrong, she knew, that she, the mage who had taken down gods, seen death and took up its magic and used it, would break this much in her own house. It was wrong and it was pathetic and it was so unlike her that she almost cried again. But she didn't, instead staying in her father's grip for what seemed like a long time.

Then the doorbell rang.

She abruptly got up, already looking in the direction of the door. Whoever was knocking was still at it, the hollow sound slow and rhythmic. It sounded- she could be wrong, but it sounded like bones on wood.

Her eyes widened and she dashed towards the door. She gripped the handle and pulled, and an unfamiliar face greeted her eyes.

No- no it wasn't. It was Skulduggery, wearing a façade. The familiar curves of his face lined the fake skin of the face he was wearing.

"Skulduggery!" she hissed. "What are you doing here? I thought you were coming after I'd… after I'd got dressed?" she finished, suddenly realising she was in her pyjamas.

"Who is it, Steph?" called her dad behind her.

"What do I say to him?" she whispered to Skulduggery.

"Say I'm your dad," he replied with perfect seriousness.

She glared at him. "He is my dad."

He stared back. Unfortunately, even with the façade, he still hadn't mastered the art of blinking. "Your brother, then."

She sighed. Turning round, she blustered, "He's a… friend, you know, from… from school. I… I left my phone at school and he's returning it."

"At this early in the morning?" replied her dad, mildly interested but already with his face in the paper.

She smiled apologetically at Skulduggery, then realised. It wasn't even eight o' clock, she was in her pyjamas, and Skulduggery was standing at her door. Her smile abruptly dropped. "What are you doing here?" she said, keeping her voice low.

Skulduggery took a deep breath. "There is a mass-murderer on the loose."

She raised one eyebrow. Words like that didn't come out of Skulduggery's mouth. "Really?"

He paused. "Well, kind of. But I need your help. Go activate your reflection and I'll be outside your bedroom window."

"Skulduggery?"

"Yes, Valkyrie?"

She narrowed her eyes. "This was my time off."

"My dear Valkyrie, time off is a flexible concept that is immediately overruled by any possibility of mass murderers."

"I hate you."

"I am well aware."


	3. Chapter 3

**Just saying I haven't read the last Skulduggery book yet so yeah! There are no spoilers here. Enjoy the story! I'm really grateful for all the reviews!**

* * *

><p>ONE DAY (ish) LATER<p>

"Ireland!" proclaimed Magnus as soon as they stepped off the train, throwing his arms wide. "The land of leprechauns and shamrocks! Of banshees and mysteries! Of-"

Jace glared at him. He shut up.

"Are leprechauns real?" asked Simon in surprise.

"No idea," replied Magnus. "I once met a banshee – they're a sort of warlock that enjoy sitting in forests, tearing their hair out and screaming at passers-by – that swears she has frequent conversations with them. Seeing as she also enjoys private conversations with her teddy bear and often makes life-long friends with rocks, she's probably not a very reliable source. But believe what you will."

"Fair enough," replied Simon. He marvelled at how unfazed he could be when a centuries-old warlock started talking about a banshee that had conversations with her teddy.

"You've been here before then?" asked Clary, half interested, half absorbed in looking at their surroundings. There wouldn't have been much to see to the normal eye- they were in a train station!- but her experiences in the Shadow World had taught Clary not to take things as they were and always look beyond what was in front of her. She concentrated, and was only half surprised to see small differences in the surroundings- a door handle growing out of a previously blank wall, people appearing seemingly out of nowhere, symbols- Marks?- flashing on their skin, and- hang on, was that a skeleton?

It was a tall, thin man in a creased suit that clung to him like it were wet, and his bald head, facing away from Clary, was a startling bone-white colour. She blinked, and she lost sight of him in the crowd. No, she was mistaken, surely. It must have been the dim light that made his head look so shining dirty-white. Clary gave a short laugh. She was on holiday in Ireland- and seeing skeletons in train stations. She was getting paranoid. A walking skeleton was absolutely ridiculous, even after what she'd seen.

"-and I've met a fair few more banshees since. They're exactly the life and soul of the party, I can tell you." Magnus's voice filtered straight through her brain for a few seconds before she realised he was talking to her. "Clary…?"

Clary jerked her head back to Magnus, flustered. "Yes. Sorry. You were saying?"

* * *

><p>"Well, that was completely pointless," Valkyrie exclaimed, walking briskly to match Skulduggery's effortlessly exhausting pace.<p>

"In my experience, nothing is ever pointless, my dear Valkyrie," Skulduggery replied effortlessly.

Valkyrie sighed in annoyance. "We just walked in a _perfect_ circle around a train station, looking for a sign of this so-called mass-murderer, and it turns out he was never here after all and it was all a mistake."

"Ah, but you see, we gained some valuable exercise and improved our observation skills a tad."

Valkyrie glared at him, and, wisely, he shut up. "So what are we doing now?" she asked.

"I suggest we return to the Sanctuary."

They walked in silence for a bit.

"Skulduggery?"

"Yes, Valkyrie?"

"Tell me, exactly _how_ did you manage to mistake an old lady with a bag of shopping for a mass-murderer?"

* * *

><p>"Jace, are there any Shadowhunters around here?" Clary asked, breaking the silence that they had had walking down the streets of Dublin, as they were all trying to take it all in- the buildings, the atmosphere, the relief at the freedom they were having. Clary had been thinking about the train station, and what she had seen.<p>

"Actually, there are some," replied Jace, turning to face her, his cheekbones defined with smooth evening light. "You would think that we would want to all stay in one place, wouldn't you? But generally you'd find a few Shadowhunter families wherever you went."

"Will we meet them?" asked Simon, who was walking beside them.

"I doubt it. They keep themselves to themselves, the Irish families. But Magnus will know more than I do; he's been here before-" He turned round, and suddenly realised there was no-one behind them.

"Where are Magnus and Alec?" said Clary, puzzled. "Did they go somewhere?"

"No they were supposed to be following us… no wonder it was so silent, Magnus hardly ever shuts up…" Jace muttered.

"They've probably got lost," Simon offered.

"But when did they go? I didn't notice anything…" Jace continued. "Stupid! Why didn't I notice?"

Clary was surprised. She knew it would be a blow to Jace, who had the most finely tuned senses out of all of them, that they had gone without him noticing, but they were still in Dublin, weren't they? All they had to do was backtrack. Why was Jace so worried?

* * *

><p>"Okay, where are we?" asked Alec in a worried voice. He and Magnus had found themselves in some sort of alleyway, behind a huge building - a cinema or something.<p>

"I- don't know," Magnus replied, just as worried.

"Oh, please, you were the one who wanted to "go have a look down that street"," Alec exclaimed. "Now look where we are."

"It's OK, I can just do this… thing, it'll point us in the direction of the others.." said Magnus, sounding not very confident.

"You mean a- spell?" said Alec. He didn't like that word; it made him sound like a child, but there really was no other word he could think of.

"Yeah, just a moment…"

Alec looked over to Magnus. He seemed to be composing himself. "You sure it'll work? And is it a good idea? There are so many people round here, they could…" Alec didn't get to finish his sentence because right then the street lamp went out with a loud bang, and they were plunged into darkness.

"Alec?" Magnus called out. "Hold on, I'll give us some light…"

A few seconds passed, then a soft blue glow began to radiate from Magnus's hands. "Can you see me?"

"Yeah, I'm good, it's-"

"-and it became vital that we would do this." A man's voice suddenly cut through the darkness, accompanied by two sets of footsteps coming closer.

"Yes, but-" replied a woman's voice. And then, by the steadily growing light emanating from Magnus's hands, two figures became visible. A young woman, wearing a stylish black jacket, and a- _skeleton_?

Alec's eyes widened, along with Magnus's behind him.

"Er…" said Magnus, as the woman's eyes also began to widen. "Hi?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me this far! I know I'm doing nothing to justify Derek Landy's or Cassandra Clare's works of genius, but yeah, it's only my first fanfiction. But I really appreciate all the reviews, because it's nice to know people are enjoying my story. I welcome bad reviews too! if you hate my story, say so. **

**Also, I'm really sorry that each chapter is so far from the previous one. I am the worst at updating quickly. anyway, i hope you enjoy chapter 4.**

Alec gaped. A walking skeleton – on the streets of Dublin. How? _How_? It wasn't a demon; he'd never seen a demon like it before. And the woman seemed completely unaware of the fact that she was standing next to, and had just been talking to, a skeleton. A _skeleton_.

Then, to his surprise, the woman's face broke out into a smile.

"Hi, I'm Valkyrie, this is Skulduggery. He's- well, he's kind of been brought back to life from the dead. But he's okay really," she explained to his and Magnus' shocked faces. She spoke with an Irish accent. Only to be expected, Alec found himself thinking. "Are you visiting? Only I haven't seen you around before," she added.

Alec closed his open mouth, realising that it had been hanging open. "Yes, we're… visiting," he replied, then trailed off, not being able to think of anything else to say. Was she one of the Irish Shadowhunters that Magnus had been telling him about? That would probably be why she was so unfazed… But how was the skeleton alive? How did that happen? What was going on?

"I'm Magnus and this is Alec," said Magnus, thankfully picking up where Alec had been unable to continue. "We're from the States; we're visiting Ireland on holiday. Also, I'm a warlock and Alec here is a Shadowhunter- are you…" He gestured with his hands, running out of words.

"But- you're not a warlock, are you?" the woman suddenly burst out.

Magnus was lost for words for a few seconds. Then: "Lilith was my ancestor, I have a warlock mother and father, and I am currently holding blue flames. Of course I am a warlock."

"But- who's Lilith?" asked the woman, confused. "And I thought warlocks were different - I've met warlocks, they can't conjure flame…"

"You've probably not met many warlocks then," Alec offered. "Are you Shadowhunters?" he continued. That would be the only explanation why they weren't in the least surprised to find Magnus holding some fire, yet somehow, as Alec said the words, they didn't seem right. They had no Marks, for one thing.

"What're Shadowhunters?" said the woman, frowning.

"You haven't heard of Shadowhunters?" said Magnus, surprised. "But you must have heard of Shadowhunters, it's the only explanation…" He trailed off, the last part being more to himself than anyone else.

"Look," said the woman, "We're not these Shadowhunter things, and we are definitely not warlocks. See?" and at her final word she clicked her fingers, and a bright yellow flame flared between them.

Well, that didn't make sense… They were 'definitely not warlocks' but she had just conjured a flame…

"I rather think…" said the skeleton, causing Alec to jump as he had forgotten he was there, "that there is a misunderstanding going on. You say you are a warlock and your acquaintance here is a Shadowhunter, yet you are not my nor Valkyrie's common understanding of a warlock. And you also believe I and Valkyrie are warlocks, but it is our view that we are not. Perhaps we have different words for the same things?"

"Yeah, what _are _Shadowhunters?" asked the woman. Actually, now Alec thought about it, she couldn't be older than what, fifteen or sixteen? - not nearly as old as he had first thought. And what had the skeleton called her? Valkyrie? Strange name, he thought.

"Well, if you really haven't heard of them…" replied Magnus to Valkyrie, at which she shook her head, so he continued. "Shadowhunters are a race of warriors that all have angel blood in them."

"We protect the world from demons," put in Alec. Valkyrie looked as if she found it hard to believe this, but the skeleton said, "Well, you know what, I don't say this very often, but I believe you. But answer me this: how come I haven't met you before?"

"Most Shadowhunters live in a hidden country between Germany and France," Alec explained, then bit his lip. He highly doubted he was supposed to tell them that. Valkyrie looked as if she was disbelieving them more and more every second.

"Skulduggery," she murmured. "I haven't heard of Shadowhunters, and neither have you. How do we know we can trust them?"

"We can't," the skeleton- Skulduggery- murmured back, "but I can usually tell when someone's lying, because I am a frequent liar myself."

"Nice name," said Alec, before he could stop himself.

"Thank you," said Skulduggery.

"So – am I right in saying…" began the girl. "You are a Shadowhunter, part of a race of warriors descended from angels whom we have never heard of, and you have never met the likes of us before either?"

"Pretty much," said Magnus.

"Hang on!" said Valkyrie, understanding suddenly dawning on her face. "Are these 'angels' like the Ancients?"

"I'm sorry," said Magnus, "but I don't know what you mean. The angels are actually angels. Like, actual angels. From heaven."

Valkyrie's face fell. "Oh. Right. Yeah."

"Why don't you come with us to the Sanctuary?" said the skeleton. "You can tell us more, and we can tell you about ourselves."

Valkyrie looked at him. "You're being unnaturally nice," she said suspiciously. Skulduggery ignored her.

"Look, I'm really sorry," said Alec apologetically. "but we really need to find-"

Suddenly three teenagers came running around the corner. Two boys, one girl. Simon, Jace and Clary. "Alec!" Jace shouted in relief. "We spent ages looking for you, I thought you'd got-" He stopped abruptly at the sight of Skulduggery and Valkyrie. "Who are _they_?" he exclaimed.

"-our friends," Alec finished. "Jace, Simon, Clary, meet Skulduggery and Valkyrie."

"Skulduggery's a skeleton," said Valkyrie.


	5. Chapter 5

"You're a skeleton," repeated Jace.

"Yes, I am," Skulduggery replied.

Jace turned his head to Alec. "Who are these people?"

Alec looked at Skulduggery and Valkyrie for help.

Valkyrie took a breath. "Ok. We're mages. That's like… like warlocks?" she began hesitantly. Magnus nodded, so she continued. "We're detectives. And we save the world sometimes too."

"Right," said Jace slowly.

"And as you have helpfully pointed out, I am in fact a skeleton. I was killed in a war but then returned to life," said Skulduggery. "Now we've told you who we are, can you tell us the same about yourselves?"

The two other people – Simon and Clary, Alec had said, - were standing motionless, staring at them with shocked and disbelieving, respectively, expressions on their faces. The girl, Clary, spoke up. "Do you know these people, Magnus?" she asked, not taking her eyes off them.

"No," admitted Magnus. "We just met them."

"So you're warlocks?" Clary asked.

"We are, I think, what you would call warlocks," explained Skulduggery. "But we call ourselves Elementals, as we have some control over the elements." He spread his fingers and a breeze ruffled Clary's hair. "Like so."

"Cool," Clary said. "So you know the Irish Shadowhunters?" she asked.

"I'm afraid to say we do not. Unless, of course, we know them by a different name," Skulduggery answered. "But please, enlighten us. What do Shadowhunters do? I and Valkyrie had never heard of them before now."

"You've never heard of Shadowhunters?" Jace said incredulously. "I thought all warlocks had heard of Shadowhunters."

Magnus suddenly spoke up. "But you're not warlocks, are you?" he said quietly. "Warlocks always have a defining feature, like blue skin or pointy ears, which sets us apart from ordinary humans. These to people are completely normal humans." He looked at them, almost accusingly, but curiously.

"Well, how did _he_ just do magic?" Jace exclaimed, pointing at Skulduggery.

Magnus looked at Skulduggery. "Yes," he said, "How did you do magic? You're not warlocks. I can tell a warlock from a human being. So where does your magic come from?"

"I thought our magic came from our true names?" Valkyrie said, and glanced up at Skulduggery to confirm. He nodded.

"True names?" The other boy, Simon, suddenly spoke up. "What are they?"

"You don't know what true names are?" Skulduggery frowned. Everyone shook their heads. "Right," he began. "Everyone has two names, their given name and their true name. Most people don't know their true name-" -he glanced almost imperceptibly at Valkyrie at this point- "-but it is where all sorcerers' magic comes from. You know someone's true name, and you have absolute power over them. Your given name is the one your parents give you, and knowing someone's given name gives you a certain degree of power over them. This is why sorcerers take third names. Your taken name defines you, is chosen by you, and protects your given name."

"Should we take third names?" Simon asked anxiously. Skulduggery looked at Valkyrie. She shrugged.

"I suppose it can't do any harm," Skulduggery said.

"Wait, so… Skulduggery and Valkyrie aren't your real names?" asked Alec.

"Oh, they're our real names," replied Skulduggery, "but they weren't the ones we were given, if that's what you mean." Alec nodded.

"In that case," said Simon, "I'll be… River Fang."

Valkyrie and Clary simultaneously raised eyebrows. "Right…" said Clary. She caught Valkyrie's eye and they both grinned. "I'll just stay Clary, I think," she said. "It's not my real name, it's a shortened form. That'll be OK, won't it?" Valkyrie looked at Skulduggery to confirm.

"I don't know if that'll work…" he said slowly.

"I'll be Jace then," said Jace, seeming relieved. "That's easy enough."

"If you use a shortened form, someone might be able to guess your name," Valkyrie pointed out.

"I'll be Claire then," Clary said. "No- Mer, French for 'sea'. Yes, that'll be okay. I'll be called… Mer Rune."

"That's a good name," said Valkyrie, and she wasn't lying, she did like it.

Jace winced. "I'll stay as Jace, thanks. I don't think anyone will be able to guess my full name."

"What is it?" asked Valkyrie, then stopped Jace, who was about to reply. "No- you'd better not answer that."

"I'll be Jace too," said Alec. Everyone looked at him in surprise. He sighed. "Look, I can't think of anything else at the moment. Just call me Jace until I think of something better." Magnus raised his eyebrows.

"Better?" Jace exclaimed. "Are you saying my name isn't good enough?" They all laughed, all except Skulduggery, who remained strangely silent.

Valkyrie looked over to him. He hadn't spoken for a long time, which was strange. "You don't trust them, do you?" she whispered. Skulduggery looked down at her.

"Everything they say I find hard to believe," Skulduggery replied, "but they aren't lying, I'm sure. I know a liar. It doesn't make sense."

"Maybe they are telling the truth. You never know," said Valkyrie. "You were the one who was being nice earlier. Can't we just _trust_ someone for once?"

Skulduggery looked at her, and if he had had eyebrows he would be raising them at her right now. "Now, you trusted me, and look where that got you," he said teasingly. Valkyrie grinned. He relented. "Okay, just this once, but they're coming to the Sanctuary."

She turned back to the others, who had been laughing at something Magnus had said. "Would you like to come to the Sanctuary?" she said. "It's like an office block, but for magic."

"It's nothing like that," said Skulduggery behind her. "I would call it- a centre of magic, where mages gather to discuss matters of great importance."

"_And_ some offices," Valkyrie put in.

"We'd love to visit," Magnus interrupted, "but we have to get to our hotel."

"Oh. Yes, of course," said Valkyrie.

"Which hotel is that?" asked Skulduggery casually.

"Don't be so nosy!" Valkyrie whispered. Skulduggery ignored her.

"Oh, the Four Seasons Hotel, on Simmonscourt Road," replied Magnus.

"You're welcome with us any time," said Valkyrie. "Aren't they, Skulduggery?"

Skulduggery reluctantly agreed.

** Author's note: As always, thanks for all the followers, favourites and reviews. I really appreciate them, and it's nice to know people are taking time to comment. I don't really know where this story is going; I have a few ideas but more ideas are very welcome! Also, the Mortal Instruments belong to Cassandra Clare and Skulduggery Pleasant belongs to Derek Landy, as you know, but yeah. I'll try and update a bit faster, but Christmas is coming!**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Thank you for all the followers, favourites and reviews as always! I don't really know where this story is going so suggestions are welcome! Reviews too- tell me if you like it and what I should improve. I know one thing I'm really bad at is updating regularly, and I'm really sorry! But without further ado, here's chapter 6.**

_"__Magnus?" called__Alec. Magnus was walking away from him, surrounded by shadows._

_At Alec's voice he turned around and smiled sadly at him. "I'm sorry, but you're just not good enough for me." He turned away, and walked towards two people standing, waiting, at the end of the street. One was a tall, thin man in a hat that hid his face in shadow. The other was a girl, not much younger than Alec. Her eyes were deep black._

_Then the tall man lifted up his hat, revealing two blank eye sockets. He had no skin, and no face. He was just a skeleton. "Magnus Bane," he said his voice like silk. "What a pleasure it is to see you again."_

_"__No," replied Magnus, "The pleasure is all mine."_

_"__Magnus, what are you doing?" Alec shouted desperately. Magnus didn't reply._

_The skeleton's twin pools of blackness that were where his eyes should have been looked up then, and stared at Alec with what might have been a triumphant gaze. _

_"__Don't worry, he's not coming," said Magnus smoothly when he had followed the skeleton's gaze._

_Alec stared after him in despair as he watched them turn and walk away._

Slowly Alec fought to consciousness, sleep still tugging at him. He opened his sleep-heavy eyes and immediately saw Magnus at the other side of the room, making coffee. What had he just been dreaming about? It had had Magnus in, and the skeleton... Suddenly the previous day's events came flooding back to him. The living skeleton... and Valkyrie, the girl... and magic of a kind he had never seen before...

He slowly swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. "Morning," he said, walking over to where Magnus was boiling something in a kettle.

"Morning," Magnus replied. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah," Alec replied.

"D'you want tea?"

It was tea, not coffee. Alec glanced at the box lying on the counter. Earl Grey... He'd never tried that before. There was a first time for everything, he supposed. "Go on then."

Magnus picked up the kettle and began to pour hot water, when suddenly there was a knock on the door. He looked up.

"Who's that going to be at this time in the morning?" Alec asked in surprise.

"I have a vague idea..." Magnus put down the kettle and walked over to the door. He opened it.

Behind the door was a thin, bald man in a black hat. "Good morning," he said pleasantly.

Alec knew that voice... "You're Skulduggery!" he said.

"The very same," Skulduggery replied. "I wear a façade over my face in public places so I don't frighten people out of their wits. A rather useful accessory, don't you think?"

"Quite," said Magnus, seeming ever so slightly impressed. "So I suppose you've come to take us to the Sanctuary?"

"Indeed."

Alec's face fell. "It's eight o'clock in the morning. I shouldn't even be awake," he said, dismayed.

"So where are we going?" asked Clary as Skulduggery led them through the streets of Dublin. She had been unceremoniously woken up at half eight by the knock on the door, and still wasn't fully awake, despite two cups of coffee. She, Jace and Simon had reluctantly joined Magnus, Alec and Skulduggery in visiting the Sanctuary - the building which Skulduggery had said was a centre for magic. However, there were no huge buildings in sight as of yet, neither was Valkyrie, the girl who had appeared to be Skulduggery's assistant.

"Firstly, my good friend Ghastly Bespoke's house." Skulduggery replied. "He is an elder of the Sanctuary and a magnificent tailor. He also taught me how to box. We'll visit the Sanctuary later, but first I need a conversation with someone I can trust."

"Did he choose that name himself?" Clary said in surprise.

"Oh yes, of course. All kinds of names suit all manner of people."

"But who'd call themselves _Ghastly_?" asked Simon.

No answer came as Skulduggery was walking up to a building with the words 'Bespoke Tailoring' over the doorway and simple, but classy, clothes on display in the windows.

"Um, is that shop going to be open at this time in the morning?" Alec asked hesitantly.

Skulduggery knocked on the door three times. "Of course, for a friend," he answered.

The door opened. Clary almost let out an involuntary gasp. The man who had opened it was covered in ugly, deep scars all over his head.

"Skulduggery," the man said in greeting. "It's good to see you. And these are your friends?" He motioned to Clary and the others behind him.

"We're visiting Ireland. We've never met mages before. We're Shadowhunters, except Magnus. He's a warlock," explained Clary, trying to speak normally once she had got over her initial shock.

"And what are Shadowhunters?" asked Ghastly. It was an innocent enough question, but Clary could see him growing suspicious.

"We're warriors that destroy demons," replied Clary. "All Shadowhunters share the same ancestry."

Ghastly surveyed her for a few seconds. She was glad she had not mentioned that Shadowhunters had angel blood; she could see this man was finding what she was saying hard to believe even without bringing heavenly beings into it. Ghastly turned to Skulduggery. "Is this true?" he said.

"I believe so," said Skulduggery, "but I had hoped you might tell me if you had ever heard of such before. I can't trust someone blindly without a good reason."

Ghastly thought for a few more moments. "You're a warlock, you say?"

"Yes-" began Magnus, but Skulduggery cut in.

"He is not a warlock as you or I understand it," he said. "His magic, he says, doesn't come from his true name. Also, his magic isn't like a warlock's. It's like some other Adept discipline."

"Look," said Magnus. "You're not the only important ones round here. How do _we_ know we can trust _you_? Magic, as I understand it, is limited only to magical beings. And although you had, as you say, died and come back to life, your friend Valkyrie appears to be a normal human being. You're not the only ones confused around here."

Ghastly sighed. "I suppose you'd better come in," he said in his rough but kind native accent.

Clary knew it was rude, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from his face and the terrible twisted pattern of scars across it. She didn't like him instinctively, and she didn't like any of this. The only thing keeping her here was, well, Magnus's, and her, need to understand. Not to mention one of the most important things she had learned from the Shadow World: don't judge by appearances. There was something going on, something different to anything she had seen before, and she needed to know more.

She looked at Jace instinctively for comfort. His expression was hard and set, like a warrior preparing himself for a war. He turned his head to look at her, and she felt his fingers brush hers. Then he followed Ghastly and the skeleton inside.

Clary made to follow him, but Magnus suddenly stopped her, putting a hand on her arm. "I heard something." Clary frowned. It wasn't like Magnus to get worked up over an unsettling noise. She hadn't heard it, anyway.

"I heard something too," said Simon nervously. Clary listened, straining to pick out something.

She didn't need to strain. Through the morning air came a sudden, shrill yell. The voice was a girl's, and she was shouting Skulduggery's name.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note: Thanks as always for all the reviews, follows and favourites, especially to Bananskugga, ValduggeryRules and Prudence Loves Books for their reviews of chapter 6, which really cheered me up. Thanks everyone! Here's chapter 7.**

15 minutes earlier…

Valkyrie jogged through the enclosed streets, her messy, hurried ponytail swinging. Skulduggery was going to be cross. Very cross.

Valkyrie was late. She had gone home to go to sleep after a day at work that was no more tiring than any other, yet she had practically fallen into bed as soon as she was home. She had slept like a log, and done the unthinkable: slept in. OK, waking up at a quarter to eight on a Saturday wasn't sleeping in by most people's standards, but Skulduggery had specifically told her to be ready and waiting for him at the end of her street by seven. As soon as she had seen the time she had gasped, feverishly activated the reflection and got dressed. After giving the reflection some hurried instructions, she had climbed out of the window and started running. Skulduggery was nowhere to be seen so she had hitched a lift and been dropped a few streets away from Ghastly's house.

Now it was about a quarter to nine and Valkyrie had found herself in an unfamiliar alleyway. She slowed down and tried to fathom out where she was. There was a large building on her left and a wall on her right, and a solitary streetlamp. She looked around a bit more, trying to get some sense of direction.

Suddenly there was a low snarl from behind her.

She whirled round and almost screamed. Coming towards her was a beast, the likes of which she had never seen before. It was pacing towards her on all fours, the snarl rumbling from its lips turning into a growl. Its skin was wet and greasy and completely bare of any hair. And it had row upon row of teeth.

Valkyrie started to back away. What _was_ it? She had never heard of anything like it. All she knew was that it looked _hungry_.

The beast pounced. Valkyrie instinctively threw up her arms in defence and sent a solid wall of air slamming into the creature, sending it backwards into the wall of the building. She sighed in relief.

A second later it attacked again, throwing Valkyrie to the ground. Her head made a sickening _thwack _on the paving slabs. She moaned. Desperately she pulled the shadows towards her and they sliced into the beast with a satisfying _rip_. It staggered backwards. Valkyrie took her chance.

"_Skulduggery_!" she yelled. Then, remembering that Skulduggery could be miles away, she cried out: "_Ghastly! Help me!"_

Ghastly's head turned at the sound of his name. Clary saw him glance at Skulduggery, and, wordlessly, they set off running in the direction of the sound. Clary gazed after them. Whose voice had it been?

"That was Valkyrie," said Simon. She looked at him. Of course it had been Valkyrie. Simon looked around at everyone else, whose faces were a mask of confusion. "Well, aren't we going to do something?"

Jace blinked. "Yeah, course," he said, his expression turning to one of anticipation. "What are we waiting for?" He beckoned to Clary, and then set off running. Clary followed.

Valkyrie's head sank back onto the pavement. She was exhausted. Why, _why_, couldn't she overpower this creature? She was an Elemental Necromancer, for goodness sake. Armed with a wide range of magical powers.

Feebly she sent more shadows slamming into the creature, which stalled it for a few seconds. Her arms dropped to her sides. She was almost spent. Why was this creature so invincible? And what on earth was it doing _here_, in a back street in a Dublin suburb?

The creature hissed. Great, now it was angry as well as hungry. Not only that, but it showed no sign of becoming any weaker. She tried to lift her hand, tried to bring her thumb and index finger together to make a spark, but she couldn't make her useless fingers obey her. Did Ghastly hear her? Was he coming? Valkyrie's hand slumped back onto the pavement.

"Valkyrie!"

Valkyrie gasped. That was Skulduggery's voice.

There was a _whoosh_, then a _crack_. The creature groaned somewhere near her. She tried to open her eyes.

"Valkyrie, are you injured?" That was Ghastly's voice.

"Yeah," she managed to get out. She opened her eyes fully and looked around, or at least as best as she could manage. Ghastly was bending over her and Skulduggery was standing near, his head tilted on one side. Ghastly looked up at Skulduggery. "What was that?"

"I don't know," he replied. Not something he said every day.

Then several things happened very quickly. The creature launched itself at Skulduggery, he fell to the floor underneath its weight, and then Jace came running in. He sliced at the creature with a long sword, bright sunlight reflecting off its blade, and the creature screamed and fell. Then it seemed to be- Valkyrie moved her head painfully to get another look- fading?

A second later Clary came running, along with the others. "What happened?" she said breathlessly.

Skulduggery was staring at Jace as if he couldn't quite believe what had just happened. Valkyrie knew she couldn't. Clary looked from Jace to Skulduggery, waiting for an answer.

"What's happened to Valkyrie?" Simon demanded. Valkyrie strained to turn her head.

"Don't try to move," murmured Ghastly to her. She reluctantly obeyed and rested her head back on the pavement.

"It was a demon," Jace said suddenly. What did he mean, a demon? Weren't they... well, metaphors? However, it seemed to have a meaning for Clary and the others, who looked surprised and downright worried.

"You mean... you were attacked by a demon?" said Clary.

"Yeah. I defeated it and it's gone, but there could be more."

"Shouldn't we tell the Irish Shadowhunters? They'll need to know if there could be a demon in the area," Alec offered.

"Yeah, we should," said Simon.

Skulduggery was regarding all this with his usual head tilt.

"Ghastly..." Valkyrie whispered. Then she didn't know what to say next. What was going on, perhaps? Suddenly she was overcome by nausea. Her head began to swim. "Ghastly, I feel ill," she said weakly and then the world spiralled and spun and green blobs danced in front of her eyes. _Green_, she thought deliriously. _I like green._ Then the green was replaced by black and she fell into unconsciousness.

Clary tentatively stepped into the room where Valkyrie lay sleeping on the sofa. It was quiet, unlike the room she had just been in where a number of strange discussions were taking place between Magnus, Jace, Alec, Simon and the two strange men they had met. She took a couple more steps forward, trying to tread as quietly as possible, and deposited a glass of water on the coffee table. Silently she moved the table closer to Valkyrie's bedside – or rather, sofa side- and began to walk away again, but then she heard Valkyrie give a groan, like she was waking up. She turned round to see Valkyrie's eyelids flutter open. "Wh-" she said. Then, seeing Clary, she said, "You're that person – I met you yesterday..."

"Yeah," Clary said, "You need to rest. You hit your head, but your friend says it's probably not concussion, but needs to make sure."

"But there was a creature..."

"The creature's dead. You're fine."

Valkyrie frowned, as if trying to remember. "I was trying to fight it... but it was indestructible."

"It's called a demon," Clary explained. She was beginning to wish she wasn't the one who had to explain this.

Jace would do it much better... "They're supposed to stay in their world, but they break through to ours sometimes."

"And Shadowhunters kill them," finished Valkyrie

"Well... yeah, we do. That's our job," said Clary. "We kill demons whenever they escape to our world, because they're dangerous and we're the only ones who can stop them. Because we have angel blood."

Valkyrie started to sit up. Clary tried to stop her. "They said you shouldn't try to get up..."

"Oh, I'm fine...Did Skulduggery say that?"

"Um, maybe..."

"Huh, he would."

Clary wasn't sure how to reply to this.

"So... you're warriors that have angel blood and you kill demons," Valkyrie stated. "How many of you are there?"

"I don't know... We live all over the world, so... Loads?"

"A lovely precise answer," Valkyrie said.

"Sorry."

"No, I do it all the time. Drives Skulduggery mad." She laughed. "And then he does it too. Like, 'Exactly how many vampires are guarding that vault we need to break into?' 'Oh, a few.' And then there turn out to be, like, a hundred." She stopped suddenly, looking at Clary's face with a worried expression. Clary realised that she must have had her scared face on. "Sorry, carry on. Hang on, did you say _vampires_?"

"Yeah... we've got vampires here. They're not like the vampires you see on television; they're more like animals."

"Oh, I've met vampires before," Clary explained. "I just didn't expect them to be here, especially because you say you've never heard of demons."

"Vampires aren't demons," Valkyrie frowned.

"Oh no, they're not demons. It's just a demon disease," Clary explained.

"I've never heard that before." Valkyrie looked interested.

"Yeah, it's passed on by someone's blood being drunk by a vampire and then being replaced by vampire blood. Actually, Simon is a vampire, but he can walk in daylight because he's a Daylighter..." she trailed off because Valkyrie looked alarmed.

"He's a _vampire_?"

Clary immediately regretted saying that. "Yeah, but... he only drinks animal blood, and I know Simon; he wouldn't hurt anyone."

Valkyrie looked slightly relieved. "Actually, that's the first time I've heard of a friendly vampire, but he seems friendly enough. Actually, I've... met one vampire who kept himself under control, but he was a bit... Well, we dated. But he was a bit... passionate, if you know what I mean? Actually, not passionate, more obsessed."

"Yeah, I've met a few people like that," Clary laughed.

Suddenly the door creaked open. It was Jace. "Oh. Hi," he said when he saw Valkyrie.

"Hi," she replied.

"Um... Clary, I was going to phone Maryse. Do you want to phone your mum?"

"Sure. I'll be right with you."

He left, and Clary looked at Valkyrie, laughing. "He gets nervous around new people."

"She just made that up!" Jace yelled from the corridor.


	8. Chapter 8

Clary stared at her phone, her finger poised over the 'call' button. She had been just about to call Jocelyn when she realised she didn't have the foggiest what she was going to tell her. She'd just met a sorcerer, a tailor who was scarred all over his head and a _living skeleton_. How much was she supposed to tell her mum? Not calling was out of the question, unfortunately. She had promised to call her mum as often as she could and seeing as she had been in Ireland for - what was it, three days? – she couldn't put it off. But what could she say? _We've arrived in Ireland, the hotel's great and the Irish are really friendly, especially the talking skeleton and his teenage friend who can conjure fire in the palm of her hand. Yeah, he's undead and has no skin, muscles or eyeballs, but that's okay._ Yeah, right. Her mum would be_ delighted_ to hear that, especially when she heard that they weren't anything to do with the Shadow World and just seemed to be casual sorcerers wandering around Ireland.

A thought came to Clary then. Who were they? What did they do? What was a teenage girl doing wandering around with a skeleton? Clary had never heard Valkyrie mention her parents, or anything to do with normality, to be honest. Did her parents know of any of this? Then she had another thought, and she laughed. Jocelyn wouldn't have any idea what she was getting up to right now, not to mention what she had been getting up to when Jocelyn was in a coma.

She made a mental note to ask Valkyrie about all of this, in the least demanding way she could of course, and made up her mind to phone her mum and tell her about the hotel and the food but leave out Valkyrie and the skeleton altogether for now. She tapped the green button that was waiting patiently on the screen and lifted the phone up to her ear, hoping that the time difference didn't mean that her mum was fast asleep.

* * *

><p>When Valkyrie woke up she found herself staring into Magnus's face.<p>

"Uh..." she said.

Magnus jumped. "You're awake! Sorry, I was just examining you."

Valkyrie raised an eyebrow.

"- that is, I was making sure you weren't cut anywhere," Magnus said hurriedly. "It would be very dangerous, because a wound inflicted by a demon can be very serious indeed."

Valkyrie relaxed. "No, I don't think the creature cut me," she said. "It almost did, but yeah, I escaped. But didn't someone say I could have concussion? I don't think I have concussion, because it would probably hurt more..."

"Oh yes, I think we can say you don't have concussion. Your brain seems to be working perfectly normally, seeing as you're talking to me. You can remember everything that happened to you?"

"Uh, yeah, I think so... But that thing, it was horrible. I've never seen anything like it before."

"It was a demon, a creature from another world," Magnus began.

"Yeah, Clary explained. But strange that I've never heard of them; I've seen quite a lot. Vampires, zombies, Faceless Ones..."

"What are they?" Magnus looked interested.

"They're like these really powerful evil beings from... well, another world, like demons. They're really hard to defeat. You have to use a God-Killer weapon, like the Sceptre of the Ancients."

"Sounds impressive."

"Oh yeah, they're horrible, but impressive, yeah," Valkyrie admitted.

There was a knock on the door. Magnus went to open it.

It was Skulduggery. "Hello, Magnus, how's Valkyrie?"

"I'm fine," Valkyrie called. "Never better."

Magnus laughed. "That's impressive, seeing as you fought a demon and aren't a Shadowhunter."

"One of my many talents," Valkyrie grinned.

"I came to see if Valkyrie was up to a trip to the Sanctuary," Skulduggery interrupted.

"Yeah, I think so," Valkyrie said. She stood up and immediately felt dizzy. She started to involuntarily lean forwards.

"Valkyrie?" Skulduggery asked, concerned. "Are you alright?"

Then the dizziness faded suddenly and she could think again. "Yep, I'm fine," she said. "I just went a bit dizzy, but I probably stood up too quickly."

"Yeah-"

"Or I spent too long lying on your lumpy sofa. _Why_ did you put me on that sofa? You know I hate that sofa."

"Stop it; you're hurting its feelings."

Valkyrie raised an eyebrow. "Sofas are inanimate objects,"

"That doesn't mean they don't have feelings."

She sighed. "Sofas are made of wood, springs and fabric. They don't have brains," she explained slowly and patiently.

"In case you haven't noticed, I don't have a brain, my dear Valkyrie."

Valkyrie gave up.

Magnus was watching this exchange with interest. "Is this- erm, usual conversation?" he asked politely.

"It is when Skulduggery's around," Valkyrie replied, giving Skulduggery her best glare to illustrate the point.

Skulduggery ignored her. "So, Magnus Bane, would you like to visit the famous Irish Sanctuary?" he asked.

"OK," he shrugged.

Skulduggery somehow looked disappointed, as if that hadn't been the reaction he was hoping for. Valkyrie had got very good at reading Skulduggery's face, even though he had no facial features to speak of. "Erm... follow me then," he replied, and stepped out of the doorway.

* * *

><p>"Hello?" said Clary down the phone.<p>

"Oh, hi, is that Clary?" came her mom's warm voice.

"Yeah, it's me."

"So how's Ireland?

_Oh, we've only met one demon so far. Nothing to complain of. And three really nice sorcerer, to, one of whom came back from the dead. I think we might make friends._ "It's great. The hotel's, you know... great..."

"That's good. What have you seen so far? I don't really know much about Ireland. What have you seen?"

_A living skeleton, a man with scars all over his head, and a teenage girl who can conjure fire in her hand._ "Well, we haven't really seen the sights yet. We've just been, you know, relaxing."_And fighting demons._

"Sounds great. How're Simon and Jace?"

"They're fine. They're, you know... fine."

"And have you met the locals?"

Oh great. _Yes, I've met the locals, but they just happen to be sorcerers who know absolutely nothing about the Shadow World._ "Yeah, we've met a few." _Stay as vague as possible._

"Clary, what's wrong with you? You're normally so talkative."

"I'm fine, Mom, it's just... there's not much to talk about yet." _Lame excuse._

"You sure?" her mom teased. "There's usually loads to talk about when you're involved."

What was she supposed to say to that? "Well, yeah..."

"I'll call back tomorrow, how about that? Then maybe there'll be more to talk about then."

Clary breathed out in relief. Her mom had picked up that she didn't want to talk right now. But what was she supposed to say tomorrow? She couldn't use the same excuse. She would just have to find something interesting to talk about instead of Ireland... "Yeah, call tomorrow," she said. "I'll probably be free in the evening."

"Oh, gosh, I don't even know when that is," said her mother, sounding worried. "How many hours ahead are you?"

"Maybe five..."

"Don't worry, I'll look it up. Bye Clary, love you."

"Love you Mom, bye." She heard the connection being cut off, pressed the red button, and heaved sigh of relief. _That didn't go too badly._

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: I would be delighted to have ideas about where YOU want this story to go- yes, YOU. Please review<em>****! **


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